Rotten Tomatoes
Suggestions will appear as you start typing. Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary

Play trailer Poster for Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary 2017 1h 39m Documentary Music Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
74% Tomatometer 43 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
The life and work of legendary jazz musician John Coltrane, including commentary from Denzel Washington, Carlos Santana, Common, Cornell West, Bill Clinton and others.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary can't hope to truly capture its subject's freewheeling creative spirit, but it's still an engaging overview for fans as well as the uninitiated.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Adam Graham Detroit News May 19, 2017
B+
Like Coltrane's music, the sheer brilliance of his musicianship cuts through the clutter. Go to Full Review
Ben Sachs Chicago Reader May 4, 2017
This documentary about John Coltrane provides a fine overview of his career for the uninitiated and plenty of lesser-known information for fans. Go to Full Review
Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune May 4, 2017
3/4
He was, and is, loved, supremely, by millions. "Chasing Trane" shares the love. Go to Full Review
Michael J. Casey Michael J. Cinema May 11, 2021
2/5
I think this is a doc about John Coltrane. I could be wrong. Go to Full Review
Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site Jul 8, 2020
Using Coltrane's music as a soundtrack, Scheinfeld has assembled archival materials and moving recollections from such jazz greats as Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins and Reggie Workman. Go to Full Review
Elissa Suh StageBuddy.com Mar 13, 2020
The lack of technical talk or analysis of his music seems not only a discredit to the legendary man and his craft, but a disappointment to longtime fans and neophytes, eager to learn more about him. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Torin F @nonlinearize Apr 23, 2024 CHASING TRANE thoughtfully illuminates John Coltrane's growth and musical development, and skillfully contextualizes the more challenging music of his later years, presenting a straightforward and sympathetic portrait of a true jazz legend. See more
Jan 17, 2021 This felt like your standard documentary and never really captured my full attention despite being informative and sprinkled with interesting personal anecdotes. The actual footage of Coltrane performances and the first person accounts from family and friends were where this doc was strongest. I never like when a doc uses an unrelated famous person's voice, in this case Denzel Washington, to speak the words of the subject of the documentary and would just prefer an anonymous sounding voice in the absence of Coltranes. John Densmore, the Doors drummer, easily wins the award for biggest Coltrane fan. See more
Dec 25, 2017 really well done and brought me back to my early days when I studied this man's work ethic, spirituality, and completely unique approach. Perhaps this will be too serious & joyless for a newbie but hang in there and deeply listen to the words.to the music. to the higher calling. See more
Nov 26, 2017 Not as detailed as I was hoping. Good place to start for the beginner. See more
Jul 13, 2017 I loved it. First of all was the constant music of Coltrane playing throughout the film. I enjoyed the still photos (why do critics have so much trouble with them?) the newsreels of the civil rights events, the interviews with the children. There was some beautiful animation and interviews with jazz greats like Sonny Rollins and Benny Golson, and of course the many clips of studio recording sessions. The music is great , the man was great, he loved and was loved, what more do we need? I thought the treatment of his death was very discreet, sparing us the suffering of so great a loss. A beautiful film! See more
Jun 24, 2017 Great film, shows a lot of unseen concert footage & pictures of Coltrane. See more
Read all reviews
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

John Scheinfeld

Director

Denzel Washington

John Coltrane

Bill Clinton

Self

Common

Self

John Densmore

Self

Benny Golson

Self

More Like This

View All
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words 92% 74% Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words Watchlist Horn From the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story 89% % Horn From the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story Watchlist Vince Giordano: There's a Future in the Past 100% % Vince Giordano: There's a Future in the Past Watchlist Hired Gun 40% 73% Hired Gun Watchlist TRAILER for Hired Gun Quincy 82% 82% Quincy Watchlist TRAILER for Quincy Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary (2016) Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary (2016) Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary (2016) A scene from "Chasing Trane: John Coltrane Feature Documentary." A scene from "Chasing Trane: John Coltrane Feature Documentary." A scene from "Chasing Trane: John Coltrane Feature Documentary." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis The life and work of legendary jazz musician John Coltrane, including commentary from Denzel Washington, Carlos Santana, Common, Cornell West, Bill Clinton and others.
Director
John Scheinfeld
Producer
Spencer Proffer, John Beug, Scott Pascucci, Dave Harding
Screenwriter
John Scheinfeld
Distributor
Abramorama
Production Co
Crew Neck Productions, Meteor 17
Genre
Documentary, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 14, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 13, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$406.3K
Runtime
1h 39m
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings